Chapter 135
Sometimes, while telling a story, you realize you’ve said more than you should.
This was one of those moments.
Maybe I brought up something I shouldn’t have.
Cindy’s eyes had reddened. It seemed her mood had grown quite gloomy.
He hadn’t meant to make the atmosphere like this. But as he sat quietly watching the sea, he had become sentimental and ended up talking about things he normally never mentioned.
Woojin tried to smooth things over.
“You don’t need to feel sad. It’s all in the past.”
“Even so… doesn’t it still hurt?”
“When I remember those days, it’s a little painful. But I’ve overcome it.”
A long time had passed.
As always, time solved everything. More than ten years had gone by—long enough for the hole in his heart to fill somewhat.
But aside from that…
“…I’d appreciate it if what I just told you stayed a secret between us.”
He didn’t want others to know about his past. That was why Woojin usually avoided talking about himself.
Cindy looked puzzled.
“Then why did you tell me something like that?”
“Because we carry the same sorrow.”
Cindy had also lost her entire family.
Since they had experienced the same kind of loss, Woojin wanted to share something honest at least once.
Like wolves licking each other’s wounds, Kim Woojin and Cindy were connected by a strange bond.
“Maybe that’s why I think of you like a younger sister.”
“…That makes me happy.”
Cindy smiled softly—a bright smile blooming like a flower.
It was a relief to see the gloom disappear.
Thinking that, Woojin lifted his fishing rod. They had been so absorbed in conversation that the shrimp bait on the hook had already disappeared.
Seeing this, Cindy asked curiously,
“Why does the bait keep disappearing?”
“The fish must be secretly nibbling it off.”
“Really? They’re pretty clever.”
The fish were surprisingly crafty when it came to stealing bait from the hook.
After attaching fresh bait, Woojin and Cindy cast their lines back into the sea.
They tried to focus on the subtle sensations at the tip of the rod…
But they kept chatting, leaving fishing as an afterthought.
In the end, they didn’t catch a single thing.
Before they knew it, the sun was setting.
“Cindy, should we head back?”
“Yeah.”
Going back empty-handed felt a little disappointing, but they had enjoyed their time.
While putting away the fishing rods and chairs, Cindy suddenly remembered something.
“Oppa, shouldn’t we check that too?”
“Hm?”
Woojin looked where she pointed.
A rope connected beneath the rocks.
Then he remembered.
Ah, we set a trap too.
I wonder if anything got caught.
Without expecting much, Woojin pulled up the trap.
But strangely, it felt heavy.
Curious, he looked inside—
“…What is this?”
“Wow!”
Cindy exclaimed loudly.
Inside the trap was a large lobster.
Woojin muttered in disbelief,
“Wait… you can catch something like this with a trap?”
He had bought the trap just to store any fish they caught.
Instead, it had done more than expected.
Cindy laughed.
“Let’s take it home and cook it!”
“Sure.”
Honestly, it would be a shame to release it.
They carefully placed the lobster in a basket and returned to the mansion with their hands full.
Days like that continued to repeat.
Claire looked busy with research every day, while Arwen served both as the research subject and her assistant.
Because the two worked together, the research progressed fairly smoothly.
“Based on the reagent tests, I can infer something,” Claire said. “Arwen and Rachel… the two of you seem to have very special bloodlines. I can’t be certain, but…”
There was a high possibility they were related to fairies.
Claire spoke cautiously.
Hearing that, Woojin recalled something from a few days earlier—something Arwen had told him after the festival in the magic city.
The witch Baba Yaga.
The witch burned at the stake after being captured by the hero Yurgis.
Baba Yaga had been one of the first dark priests and a fairy who had lived for hundreds of years.
Could Arwen possibly be the same kind of being?
“Well, we can’t jump to conclusions yet.”
Claire said calmly.
What she had said earlier was merely speculation. An unverified hypothesis was no different from fantasy.
They would need to keep analyzing and studying to find the answer.
After finishing her interim report, Claire immediately immersed herself back in her research.
Woojin didn’t stay idle either.
I’m starting to feel restless just lounging around…
Sitting around doing nothing was both boring and awkward.
So Woojin spent most of his time helping with the trading company’s work.
The one truly enjoying a carefree life was Coco.
The silver squirrel charmed the maids into giving it snacks.
It was hard to believe that creature was once the ruler of a deep region in the Demon Realm.
No one complained about Coco living so comfortably.
After all, it was considered a pet.
That one doesn’t seem like it plans to return to the Demon Realm.
It had completely adapted to life here.
When Woojin muttered that, Cindy—who was reviewing documents—spoke meaningfully.
“Oppa, you should try to learn from Coco. You might end up staying in this city longer than expected.”
“…What do you mean by that all of a sudden?”
Something about this felt suspicious.
Seeing Woojin grow uneasy, Cindy grinned mischievously.
“The third expedition might be delayed.”
“Again?”
There was a strong chance the Order Alliance’s third expedition would be postponed.
Which meant Woojin’s rest period might end up being extended as well.
Why was the schedule being delayed this time?
“Did something happen?”
“Not exactly. While exploring the Demon Realm, they discovered a new ruin.”
The geography of the Demon Realm changed rapidly.
New forests appeared, mountains split apart, and rivers changed direction regularly.
Because the terrain constantly shifted, hidden ruins sometimes surfaced—ancient ruins whose legends had almost completely vanished.
While explorers from the Order Alliance were investigating the Demon Realm…
They discovered one such ruin.
“The one who found it first was Lady Cecilia.”
“Really?”
Cecilia—the Saintess of Flora.
A priestess who had worked with Woojin before.
Apparently, she had been active in the Demon Realm and finally discovered something significant.
Cindy continued explaining,
“The Order Alliance has stopped what they were doing and is busy excavating the ruins. It seems to be pretty large… so it might take a long time before they finish.”
The potential value of the ruins was extremely high.
That was the judgment of the Order Alliance. Because of it, they postponed the expedition schedule and focused on excavating the ruins. An unexpected piece of good news.
“Claire will probably love hearing that.”
“Yeah. That sister is incredibly passionate about research.”
If the ruins were large, that meant there would also be many artifacts worth studying. Mages like Claire would surely welcome this news.
But Cindy’s main concern was something else.
“…Will this make money?”
As always, she was weighing whether a new discovery could be used for business.
“A business, huh.”
Could ruin excavation be tied to business somehow?
Woojin thought about it briefly but couldn’t come up with any good ideas. Just like always, he knew almost nothing about this field.
They needed advice from someone in the industry.
“Let’s ask Claire for advice. She’s a mage from the Magic Tower.”
Ruin excavation was closely connected to the Magic Tower, so asking Claire seemed like the best choice.
Cindy nodded immediately.
“Good idea. I’ll bring up the ruins when we eat lunch later.”
Claire was probably busy with research right now, so it would be better to ask during a meal when everyone gathered together.
Before they knew it, the sun had climbed high in the sky.
Around noon, everyone staying at the mansion gathered to eat together.
Woojin spoke first.
“I heard an interesting piece of news today.”
“What is it?”
“Apparently a new ancient ruin has been discovered.”
Claire nearly jumped in surprise.
“T-tell me more!”
Just as expected, she showed intense interest.
Woojin repeated everything he had heard from Cindy without leaving out a single detail.
Claire set down her utensils and listened carefully. When he finished, she nodded repeatedly as if deeply impressed.
“That’s incredible. The Magic Tower must be in a festive mood right now… If we’re lucky, a completely new school of magic might even be created.”
It seemed she wouldn’t be bored for quite some time.
Seeing her react so strongly, Woojin became curious.
“Is discovering ruins really that big of a deal?”
“Of course. From a mage’s perspective, it’s far more valuable than a gold mine.”
Claire paused, thinking about how to explain it.
Then she spoke again.
“Have you ever heard the term ‘The Forgotten Age’?”
“Hmm… It sounds unfamiliar.”
“Then I should start from there.”
Long ago, humanity possessed extremely powerful magic.
Spells and artifacts far more advanced than those used today. With them, humans built a vast empire.
But that glory ended abruptly.
One day, the empire suddenly collapsed—and the most brilliant magic disappeared with it.
As civilization declined…
Terrified humans began searching for gods. Whether those desperate prayers were answered or not, the gods of the heavens granted humans power born from faith.
Thus began the Divine Age.
That is what the current era is called.
“…Can I ask something?”
Woojin had been listening quietly, but suddenly spoke up. Claire nodded immediately.
“What are you curious about?”
“The explanation feels incomplete. Why did that great ancient empire suddenly collapse? And why did magic disappear?”
There were too many gaps in the story.
Claire smiled at the question.
“Jin, that’s a very good point. As for that part…”
She shrugged playfully.
“I don’t know.”
“…You don’t know?”
“That’s right. Why did the ancient empire fall? Why did the greatest magic vanish? No one knows the answer.”
There were almost no surviving records or legends about the destruction.
Why did the ancient empire collapse?
No one knew.
A golden age erased from history.
That was why it was called the Forgotten Age.
“And that’s why mages love it when ruins are discovered,” Claire continued. “When ancient imperial ruins are excavated, artifacts and records left by our ancestors are sometimes found.”
To uncover ancient ruins and restore the magic and history of the Forgotten Age.
That was the dream shared by all mages.
“…Of course,” Claire added in a quieter voice, “sometimes irreversible disasters happen during that process.”
Something came to Woojin’s mind.
“You mean the Gate of Another World?”
“That’s right.”
He had read about it in the Chronicles of the Demon Realm.
There was once a powerful kingdom—so strong that it was difficult to find anything comparable.
But as generations passed, its power gradually declined.
The weakening of the nation was reflected in its territory. It lost its major lands and fertile plains, eventually being pushed to the far northern edge of the continent.
To regain its lost glory, it needed new power.
After much deliberation, the king became interested in ancient ruins in the north.
Ruins from the Forgotten Age.
Deep beneath them was a massive rift.
A crack tightly sealed, like a stubborn clam.
According to legend, it was a kind of door.
“The Gate of Another World.”
Beyond that door lay unimaginable power and the ultimate truth of all things.
Believing this, the king poured astronomical amounts of money into researching the ruins.
But when the door finally opened—
What emerged was the disaster everyone now knew.
“The Demon Realm.”
The things beyond that gate crossed into the present world.
And the war that began that day… still continued even now.